Soldier's family files suit over supplement

“In sensitive persons, it will have adverse consequences,” Andrews said.

Sparling, 22, was originally from Northern California. He collapsed during physical training at the Army’s Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, on June 1, 2011. He suffered cardiac arrest and other injuries, according to the court complaint.

The soldier had taken the recommended dosage of Jack3d that morning — as he had since he started using the supplement in April, the document said.

GNC continues to sell Jack3d in its stores and online. USPLabs now also offers a version of the supplement that does not have DMAA.

The scenario playing out over DMAA is a rare occurrence in the supplements industry, said Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition in Washington, D.C., a trade association for the dietary supplement industry. He described the regulatory environment for dietary supplements as comprehensive.

“There is certainly a cloud over (DMAA), but the FDA hasn’t said it is illegal to sell it,” Mister said Thursday.

The FDA has requirements for product development, how a product is manufactured, how it is labeled and adverse-event reporting, he added.

But because dietary supplements are supposed to be natural products, manufacturers can put them on the market without prior FDA approval. The agency can challenge a supplement’s maker once the product is being sold.

In contrast, a prescription drug cannot go to market until it has received FDA clearance.

Without a clear FDA decision on the safety of DMAA, Mister said, retailers and manufacturers have been left to figure things out on their own.

“We think it would be premature for us or anybody else to cast judgment on the ingredient without all the data,” he said. “We would like to see the FDA give a definitive answer.”

Before using a dietary supplement, the Council for Responsible Nutrition recommends that consumers first talk to their health-care provider. It also advises them to buy brands they trust, to not expect that any product will be a magic bullet for one ailment or another, and to realize that a supplement that sounds too good to be true probably is.